Chapter 13
Thinking back, when they first met, the Emperor had asked Keith if he had ever met him before.
‘Could it be… that they really have met before?’
But how?
It was hard to imagine any point of contact between the Emperor and Keith. Keith himself had seemed utterly clueless.
“This humble subject has never had the honor of being in the presence of someone as noble as Your Majesty.”
But the Emperor was certain.
“No, it was definitely you. A free-spirited boy with just that kind of air and manner of speaking. Red hair…”
He recalled a distant past.
“It must have been twelve years ago now. I was struck by a poisoned arrow near the capital. Just when I thought I would die, you appeared.”
The story went back to before the current Emperor, Frederic Alfonso Euredia, had ascended the throne.
Emperor Frederic was the sixth prince of the previous Emperor, born to the second Empress, so his succession rank wasn’t high.
He had obtained the throne only after a bloody struggle, purging his brothers.
When he was wounded and hiding deep in the forest, there was no one to help him.
As he was resigning himself to death, a boy suddenly appeared, whistling.
Frederic thought he was delirious from the spreading poison.
But surely, a boy with red hair and pale, almost white skin was walking towards him, humming a tune.
“Hey there, give me a hand!”
He strained his failing voice to call out, but the boy, lost in his own rhythm, passed by without hearing the prince’s voice.
“I say!”
At his second desperate shout, the boy finally turned to look at him.
He was a young lad, yet he didn’t flinch at the sight of a bleeding, collapsed man – a sign he was no ordinary child.
“What’s wrong with you, mister?”
“Can’t you see? I’ve been hit by a poisoned arrow.”
“Ouch, that must hurt.”
And then he turned to leave again. How absurd it must have seemed to Frederic.
“Help me! Please!”
“What do you want me to do?”
“If you go to the capital, my men are there. Bring a physician and…”
“What’s the need for all that?”
The boy strode over, cut off the prince’s words, and abruptly pulled the arrow from his shoulder.
In that excruciating, screamless pain, Frederic was certain Keith must be an assassin.
“If the poison spreads like this…!”
“Who cares about the poison. Just eat the antidote herb growing right next to you.”
“What…?”
“Here it is.”
Keith, as if annoyed, roughly pulled up a weed growing near Frederic’s leg and shoved it, dirt still clinging to the roots, right up to the prince’s mouth.
“How can I eat it like that! It needs to be ground up, or boiled…”
“Seems you were raised finely enough to be picky even in a life-or-death situation?”
The boy smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth in a taunt. It was clearly mockery.
Frustrated, Frederic snatched the herb from Keith’s hand, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed vigorously.
Sure enough, his body soon began to recover. After confirming the color had returned to Frederic’s face, the boy turned to leave again.
“W-wait. At least tell me your name…!”
Frederic hurriedly tried to stop him, but the boy just waved his hand dismissively and disappeared.
Returning alive after being struck by a poisoned arrow, Frederic used that incident as a pretext to topple his brothers, gained the former Emperor’s favor, and eventually became Emperor.
‘He saved a man’s life, a monumental deed, and he doesn’t remember it?’
I stared at Keith with a mixture of surprise and wonder. It was an event that could be said to have enabled the current Emperor’s ascension.
Yet Keith, the very person involved, scratched the back of his head awkwardly, seemingly truly unable to recall.
“I tend to forget trivial things quickly. I apologize for not recognizing you sooner.”
“Trivial? If it weren’t for you, I would have died long ago. It’s late, but thank you.”
The Emperor finally smiled kindly again.
“Right. I intend to repay you for what I couldn’t back then. I will grant you a fief…”
“I don’t need that sort of thing.”
“Then what do you want? A title? Or money?”
Keith shook his head lightly, showing no interest in either. There wasn’t a trace of greed in his bored expression.
“You say you have no ulterior motives, yet you also say you desire nothing.”
“Ah, there is one thing.”
There it was.
The Emperor’s lips curled as he caught the glint of life returning to Keith’s eyes.
“What is it?”
“Legal provision number 1401. Except for the Emperor, a child’s social rank cannot be higher than that of their parents. However, this excludes cases where the Emperor has granted a title.”
Without hesitation, Keith recited the law clearly.
“Was there such a provision? But what’s the problem with it?”
“If I become Daphne’s father, because of this law, she’ll lose everything she’s entitled to. I want to keep everything Adelle left for Daphne. So, please abolish this law.”
The Emperor narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“You’re not asking to become a noble, nor are you asking for custody. You’re saying you’ll end it with just abolishing this clause? Even if you might lose out?”
“I don’t want to become a noble, and if I were to snatch custody like this, do you think others would stay quiet?”
His tone was light, but his words showed a keen grasp of the situation.
“Besides, Daphne is already my daughter. I’m not worried.”
A large hand was placed on my head. Keith stroked me gently, careful not to mess up my well-kept hair. A warmth spread from deep within my chest.
Even the Emperor could no longer suspect Keith and burst out laughing.
“I like it. Your attitude is already that of a count’s father. Fine. I’ll abolish that law.”
“Thank you. Truly, your generosity befits a noble Emperor.”
As the Emperor said, Keith could have asked for something better, but he didn’t.
It was a choice made solely for one person—Daphne.
I was grateful.
For calling me his daughter already, for accepting me.
But I couldn’t just relax and be happy.
‘I don’t know what kind of face they might show…’
My past life, where I’d seen countless people smiling while holding a dagger, had left me with the lesson: trust no one.
Besides, Keith was a man who seemed bound by nothing.
If it turned out I wasn’t his daughter, he might just dust himself off and leave.
So, while I was overjoyed, I couldn’t let my guard down.
—
***
“That’s absurd. Your luck is actually a type of magic, isn’t it?”
Albert’s grumbling mixed with the chirping of birds in this garden, where green leaves exuded the scent of summer.
A round table was set under the shade of the linden tree where we spent time every day.
Daphne, Albert, Keith, and Lev were seated around it, enjoying the tea time Albert had prepared.
“It’s an old bill, so there were no objections to abolishing it. Seems like it’ll be processed quickly.”
“It’s truly absurd.”
Thanks to the Emperor’s swift action, the biggest obstacle blocking Keith had been removed. As a result, Albert had begun seriously regarding Keith as a subject of study.
“But what’s with this tea party? It’s embarrassingly cutesy.”
On the small white table were an array of cute-shaped madeleines, lemon pies, puddings, and other sweets. Among them, a dainty teapot painted with pale pink flowers was particularly charming.
It was a setup far too cute for an adult man to have prepared.
Albert glared at Keith. His eyes unmistakably held disdain.
“Daphne is going to be a member of high society. Tea time etiquette is essential. The politics of young ladies are decided at the tea table.”
She wouldn’t debut for over ten years, and he was starting already?
Albert didn’t seem like it, but he had a surprisingly impatient side.
Albert, who had put a slice of lemon pie on my plate, began to lecture Keith.
“This kind of education is also necessary for Daphne’s dignity, befitting her title. Do you plan to raise a child as carelessly as you live your own life, flitting about?”
“She’s just over three years old. Eating and playing well is enough for now. What tea time etiquette?”
“Getting familiar with it from a young age is what’s important!”
Whenever these two were together, this kind of bickering never ceased.
I tuned them out and focused on the pie in front of me. The sweet and tangy lemon pie filled my mouth. As I savored its delicate flavor, my attention was drawn to Lev, who hadn’t touched his food.
After returning the Rexros troops and coming back to the palace, Lev had noticeably lost weight and looked haggard. He was as expressionless as ever, but somehow seemed exhausted. He wasn’t eating properly either.
He still looked tall and sturdy, but he was clearly gaunt.
I was worried about Lev, who looked like he might collapse at any moment.
“Did you find out anything?”
Instead of the two squabbling, Lev, who had been staring into the distance, interjected in a weary voice.
As if hearing the important question, Albert reverted to his composed scholar mode.
“There is a magic spell that succeeded just once, a very long time ago, by the mage Mandel.”
“What is it?”
“Genetic identification magic.”
